Going to Oklahoma City next week to test drive s/m. After much internal debate Iíve decided to start with a lower priced combo. I first had a budget of $3500 then something new would come out and I would think for a little bit more I could get this..and this. The next thing I know Iím looking at a $6000.00 machine. Then I thought of a Brother 770d and an s/m. I read most of the threads and have gotten a lot of advice. Thanks to everyone. Here are some of the things Iíve learned. 1 Bonding with the machine. 2 Dealer support. 3 Make a list of must haves. 4 Know the prices and trade in for moving up.
Iím looking at a Brother 1250D, 1500D or 2800D or Baby Lock equivalent. What is the price range on these machines? I have a Bernina Nova 900 which I love but the Berninaís are out of my price range. Itís a 200 mile round trip for me so any information on s/m dealers in the Oklahoma City area will be appreciated. I had a bad experience in the 80ís with a sewing machine and dealer I havenít sewn in years due to that. But I just started again and I love it. Iíve talked to the Bernina and Baby Lock dealers on the phone and they seem very helpful. The sewing I plan on doing for now is Home dťcor and some garment. Later I plan on quilting.

I'm sure there is a Brother or BabyLock model that will meet your needs. I have gone the route of keeping my embroidery unit separate...a PE700, as I am not a prolific embroider and I can sew while it does it's job. You could get a full featured machine, like the Brother NX800 and PE780D embroidery-only(the one that dealers usually carry) for under $2000 total.

It's good that you've set a budget. Some of these machines are asking way too much in price these days, which is why financing in now offered and despite being touted as 0%, there are still fees to pay for simply using their credit.

It doesn't matter whatever screaming deal you get today, when you go to trade up, it will only apply to full price(MSRP) on the new machine. I've had dealers tell me I'm better off selling it on my own, which I've done.

Have you considered a Juki for a sewing-only machine? They are at/under $1000 and have a lot of happy owners. There is a dealer in Oklahoma City(Juki site says it's The Stitching Post)

Yes, Juki f600 or 400 was one of the first s/m I looked at when I started looking. I've read the post and I think it would make a wonderful machine. The only thing that stopped me from looking at a Juki is the circle sewing, bobbin works and side sewing. Don't know what you sew with side sewing but it looks like fun. Can I do bobbin works and circle sewing on a Juki? -- Edited on 2/6/13 2:30 PM --

Ohhh, that's a good point. I just posted a question regarding this on their Facebook page. I've wondered about that. I've read of someone using this circular stitcher on their low-shank machine just fine. You could sticky-tac a thumbtack to the bed and put an eraser on the topside. But sure, it's nice to have actual attachments...

I had a Brother QC-1000 that had directional sewing. When in that mode, it sews quite slow because the feed dogs are lifting up the fabric and moving it sideways(or diagonal) to where the next stitch will be... Sometimes it's just better off pivoting. -- Edited on 2/6/13 2:46 PM --

Here's some more follow-up on the Juki bobbin case:
"You can adjust the bobbin case but with our top load bobbin I will run up to 1/8th inch ribbon. If I run something that heavy I simply skip the last tension path of the bobbin case. If you are ever concerned about wear on your bobbin case just can an extra and mark one for bobbin work.

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